VST/AU plug-in instrument/effect round-up: Week 23

Five effects, an arpeggiator and a metering tool

Form an orderly EQ

You might think that there’s nothing new to be done in the world of EQ processing, but three of this week’s software developers would care to disagree. Plus, there’s an arpeggiator, a VU meter and a drum-specific dynamics tool.

DMG Audio EQuick

PC, Mac/VST, AU, RTAS, £75

Designed to be simple, efficient and high-quality, EQuick might just be the EQ plug-in to turn to when you want to make tweaks fast. We like the look of its interface, which appears to distil a powerful feature set into a graphical layout that everyone can comprehend.

Homegrown Sounds Arp

PC/VST, $20

Many of today’s arpeggiators are sophisticated beasts, and this new one from Homegrown Sounds is no exception. One of the highlights is scale remapping, which forces sequences to be re-mapped to a particular scale depending on the note pressed, giving you additional creative possibilities.

Waves H-EQ Hybrid Equalizer

PC, Mac/VST, AU, RTAS, $99

Another EQ plug-in; the USP here is that it offers both vintage and modern EQ that’s inspired by British and American consoles. There are seven filter types per band, the option to apply different EQ to Mid and Side content, and a real-time spectrum analyser with multiple display options.

Klanghelm VUMT

PC, Mac/VST, AU, €5

If you’ve been hankering after a classic-looking VU meter, this could be the solution. VUMT comes in two varieties: Solo presents you with a single meter; while Duo has two that display either left/right or mid/side information. Four skins are provided so you can choose the one that you prefer.

Voxengo Drumformer

PC, Mac/VST, AU, $80

A one-stop dynamics processing tool for your drum tracks that offers a multiband compressor/expander, a harmonic enhancer and exciter and a noise gate. Drumformer can also be used for drum mic bleed attenuation and guitar overdrive. The price rises to $100 on September 28.

DDMF 6144 EQ

PC, Mac/VST, AU, $29

The venerable Neve Portico 5033 EQ provided the inspiration for this one, which promises unique gain-Q-interaction and custom made low- and high-shelf filters. In contrast to some modern designs, the number of controls on offer isn’t overwhelming: “just turn a knob and it will sound right,” says DDMF.

The Lower Rhythm Armadillo

PC/VST, $7.99

A ‘coloured’ channel strip utility that’s designed to add weight and character to your sounds. It gives you a dual mode low-pass/high-pass filter, variable tube saturation and variable channel voicing. Depending on how you use it, it can be “thick and greasy or pristine and clean”.